Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – "Into the Great Wide Open" (1991)

Out in the great wide open

A rebel without a clue

[NOTE: In the last 2 or 3 lines, I celebrated the 14th birthday of my wildly popular little blog by interviewing myself.  I always have a lot to say, and that goes double when I’m both the interviewer and the interviewee.  Actually, it goes triple – which is why I’ve divided up this year’s anniversary interview into three installments.  Here’s part two of that three-part interview.]

Q:  I think “rebel without a clue” is a pretty good description of 2 or 3 lines, so today’s featured song seems very à propos.  

A:  You think I’m a “rebel without a clue”?  Hardly.  I do like to think of myself as a rebel, but I mos’ definitely have a clue.  At least about some things.

Q:  I think we should just agree to disagree about that and move on.  

A:  Fine with me.

Q:  For the better part of the last year, you’ve been dropping hints about a rather dramatic change in your life.  I understand you’re prepared to quit beating around the bush today and come out with the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about that.

A:  That’s correct.  It’s something I really should have gotten off my chest months ago.

Q:  Better late than never, as they say.  But before we get into that, I want to ask you about this photo:

A:  That’s a picture of the interior of my car.  I assume you’re going to ask about the record that was playing on my Sirius/XM radio when the photo was taken, which was Otis Redding’s “Love Man”?  It’s a great record – I should feature it in a 2 or 3 lines post.

Q:  Actually, I was going to ask about the handicapped hangtag that you’re displaying.

A:  What about it?

Q:  Why do you have a handicapped hangtag?  Did you have an accident of some kind?

A:  I’ve written about how I started experiencing some numbness and muscle weakness from a herniated back disc a couple of years ago.  I’ve had two surgeries intended to fix that problem.  Unfortunately, those operations didn’t really help.  I still have numbness in my left leg and foot, and my left calf muscle is quite a bit weaker than my right one – which affects my walking.  So the last time I saw my surgeon, he asked if I would find it helpful to have a handicapped hangtag for my car.

Q:  He obviously felt that your issues were severe enough to justify that.

A;  Yes, he did.  I felt a little guilty at first – I can still walk reasonably well, and I don’t really think of myself as handicapped.  But there are instances where being able to park in a handicapped space makes a real difference for me.

Q:  For example?

A:  Well, let’s say I’m at a mall or a big-box store and have to park far away from the entrance.  If I purchase something bulky or heavy, it’s something of a struggle for me to carry it to my car – especially in bad weather.

Q:  I can see how that would be a problem.  So you only use it in those circumstances?  

A:  Pretty much.

Q:  I’m curious about this photo:

Q:  It looks like you’ve parked in a handicapped spot right next to the door to this restaurant – even though there is a regular space right next to the handicapped space.

A:  Yes.  I’ve always been a very unselfish guy, as that photo indicates.

Q:  Excuse me?  You’re saying that parking in the handicapped spot at that restaurant was unselfish?  I’m not sure I follow you.

A:  Let’s say I had parked in the regular parking space, and a non-handicapped driver arrived after I did.  It wouldn’t be permissible for him to park in the handicapped spot, so he wouldn’t have any place to park.  By parking in the handicapped space, I left the regular space open for his use.

Q:  I see.  How very noble of you.

A:  “Noble” is a bit strong, but I do try to do unto others, etc.

Q:  I note that you had your bicycle on your car in that photo.  Do you have any qualms about parking in a handicapped space when you’re healthy enough be taking bike rides?

A:  How do you know that’s my bike?  Maybe it’s one of my kids’ bikes, and I’m transporting it for them.

Q:  That would certainly be different.  So is that one of your kids’ bikes in that photo?

A:  Did I say it was?

Q:  If it’s not, I’ll repeat my original question: you don’t have any qualms about parking in a handicapped space and then taking a bike ride?

A:  Look, my doctor signed off on the application for the handicapped hangtag.  And my state’s DMV decided it was appropriate for me to be issued that hangtag.  I’m not sure what qualifies you to question the decisions of my neurosurgeon and a state agency – it’s really none of your effing business, is it?

Q:  I suppose it’s not.  Anyway, we’re out of time today and we still haven’t gotten around to discussing how your life has changed dramatically in the last year.  Can we dive right into that topic next time?

A:  Yes, we can.  I waited almost a year to reveal that to my loyal readers, so I guess I can wait a few more days.

*     *     *     *     *

Tom Petty wasn’t the first songwriter to use the line “rebel without a clue” in a song.

Jim Steinman – who produced Meat Loaf’s hugely popular Bat Out of Hell album – wrote a song titled “Rebel Without a Clue” for Bonnie Tyler, who recorded it in 1986.  That song title was presumably inspired by the iconic 1955 movie, Rebel Without a Cause, which starred James Dean as an unhappy teenager:

But Petty likely “borrowed” the line from the Replacements’ song, “I’ll Be You”:

A dream too tired to come true

Left a rebel without a clue

And I’m searching for something to do

The Replacements toured with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in 1989.  According to Songfacts,

[Petty] took a liking to (Replacements frontman Paul] Westerberg and even gave the younger musician the hat he wore in the video for “I Won't Back Down.”  Westerberg showed his appreciation by selling the hat for drugs, answering Petty's good intentions with disdain.  He and the rest of the Replacements perceived the Heartbreakers’ professionalism as repetitive, formulaic, and boring.  They insulted the audience and sometimes Petty and the Heartbreakers themselves while performing, trying to get kicked off the tour completely. 

Petty never took the bait. He kept the band on until the end, and afterwards joked about the whole thing being an interesting experience.

“Into the Great Wide Open” – which was released in 1991 – was the title track of Petty’s eighth studio album.  The music video for “Into the Great Wide Open” stars Johnny Depp and Faye Dunaway (among others).  

 

Click here to watch that music video, which is pretty brilliant – as is the song, which was co-written by Petty and Jeff Lynne.

Click here to buy “Into the Great Wide Open” from Amazon.